Architecture and Power in Africa

Two of the most ambitious religious edifices of the 20th century are the Our Lady of Peace Basilica in the West African country of the Ivory Coast and the Hassan II Mosque in Morocco. Nnamdi Elleh not only provides a substantial architectural and pictorial analysis of the buildings themselves. Using these two buildings as case studies, he investigates the relationships and implications of national memory, urban form, architectural styles, concepts of democracy, social hierarchies as well as elites who make the decisions to build Africa's post-independence monuments and capital cities.